Lumière de la Connaissance
by Laxcgurl14
Summary: "I need you," he sighed with sincerity dripping in every inch of his voice. It was filled with a warmth she never imagined and she felt that strange twinge in her heart beat again. "Then tell me who you are." He paused. "I can't do that..." "Why not?" "Because..." "Because why?" "There's going to be a war, and I'm the only one who can stop it..." AU
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Charlie Bone and the Children of the Red King are the rightful property of Jenny Nimmo. Only the plotline and OC's belong to me. **

Enjoy! :)

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**Lumière de la Connaissance**

**Prologue: ****Lumière de Transformation**

It happened twice.

Within the same time of the year, yet within different time eras.

It happened to two boys.

One was by accident, one was by fate.

It happened to one who was seemingly ordinary. One, who had no idea what kind of almighty power he possessed and was able to evoke, let alone control 1.

There was a time where there was so much hatred and darkness in the world and people were consumed by the rage and anger in their hearts that they forgot at some point what it was like to love, to be free, to live. It continued from the beginning of time, to the present, the era of the future 2.

It was only because of Fate, when she decided to take things into her own hands and intervene in the Red King's descendants' destinies, that others were brought into their modern-day world, to help them 3.

This is a story about secrets. This is a story about destruction. This is a story about war.

This is a story about Love.

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**1-3:** The writer asks that you please maintain a sense of patience as it will all be explained in the oncoming chapters. Btw, Fate is not going to be some weird lady-esque spirit figure. The writer just likes metaphors...and similes, those are nice too.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OC's. Jenny Nimmo is the rightful owner to everything else.**

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**Chapter 1: So this is where it all starts...**

_May_

"What are you doing, Charlie?"

_"Hush! _Bloody-do you want to wake up the entire house, Billy?"

The albino boy gulped and shook his head, his red eyes widening behind his new pair of thin-rimmed glasses that lessened the size of his eyes by a good amount (unlike before). He had grown immensely within in the few years since the rise of the Bone Academy and was at a pretty good height for his age, which had shocked his family and friends. He was, currently, biting his nails and waiting nervously while his adoptive older brother opened the secret passageway to their father's study.

"It has to be here somewhere," Charlie muttered under his breath, searching the bookcase. His hands hovered over the ancient-looking covers that his father and uncle had looked over countless times for research or pleasure reading. It also happened to be the one place where his father, Lyell Bone, had inserted an entry to his study. Of course, it was by accident that Charlie happened to discover it: he was simply passing by the door when he saw his father and Uncle Paton lifting a specific book from the shelf and opening a door; underneath his Uncle Paton's arm was a very large, engraved book that seemed to depict some secrecy amongst its worn down pages what with the way Uncle Paton suspiciously held the book.

Billy looked around, as a look-out, turning his head this way and and that way, making his white hair whirl in the wind. "I don't think we should be doing this, Charlie."

But the older boy just waved him off. "I want to know what that big book Uncle Paton had was..." His finger hooked around a familiar, rigid spine. "I think this is-" He pulled on it. Suddenly, a click sounded off to the side of them and quickly, they stepped back, letting the entire shelf collaspe to the side of the wall to reveal a stone frame that marked out to be a door.

Charlie grinned with satisfaction and anticipation. Just like old times. "Can you believe dad built this? In Diamond Corner of all places, too!"

"Charlie..." Billy said hesitantly. He wanted to say more, but Charlie was his role model. He helped save the city from an evil enchanter and his cronies...who was he to question him on what he was doing in their own home?

Charlie was already walking in the study, glancing around cautiously in case of any late-night intruders. His parents were fast alseep in bed and his Uncle Paton, he was sure, was laying on top of old, worn-out books that he had borrowed from the library, completely fatigued from the up-all-night "studying" (at least, that's what he calls it anyways). No one would ever disturb his and Billy's venture.

"What if it takes us all night to find that book?" Billy's voice sounded more nervous once the two boys were in the ravishing study of their father's. He had been fast alseep in his room, when Charlie had shaken him awake, whispering quite eagerly in his ear about a book he saw their father carrying. Now here he was, wondering with nervous curiousity on what in the world this book was about that would cause them to sneak around in the middle of the night.

They didn't have to look for long. The book was right there, sitting open to a specifically marked page on top of Lyell Bone's desk. Charlie turned to Billy and grinned.

"Dad should've remembered that he has two adventerous boys in his household and should hide things hidden from them."

Billy muttered under his breath so low, that he was thankful Charlie didn't hear him. "While his eldest, blood-related son should know when to keep out of other people's business."

The brunette, music student from the Bone Academy, sat in his father's chair. The same chair he had seen his father sit in for the past four years. He felt the leather radiate some high authority when he sat in it, and Charlie couldn't help but feel powerful. "What's this then?" He peered at the open page. "Looks like dad's been marking this page up more than the others...take a look, Billy."" He beckoned his younger brother forward and Billy obeyed.

Together, the two boys looked at the underlined words their father had made double markings up with curious eyes...

It was at that precise moment where the term: "curiosity killed the cat" comes to foreshadow our story, ladies and gentlemen...

_Many Philosophers and Scholars have believed that in simplistic cities, there have been people who have held extraordinary abilities of "magic" that exceed even beyond the normal human race. Meaning to say: there are more populations of these kinds of people-who, mind you, are still considered human by many-in smaller cities and towns than in capitals or large cities such as London, Oslo, or Paris. They are magicians, witches, enchanters, people who used to be judged incorrectly as evil (though in some cases this is true), but simply, they are misunderstood, for they are still people like the greater world. This has been proven by the descendants of the Red King._

_The Red King, who had founded a city hundreds of years ago, was said to be the most powerful magician in all of Europe, which is correct, as he did everything in his power to justify and correct his children-half of whom have turned evil, the other half being good-while maintaining loyalty to his Queen Berenice, who died after giving birth to their tenth child.__  
_

"Wow," Billy breathed, eyes widening again for the millionth time that night. Only this time, it was out of wonder. Who would have ever though that he and Charlie and all their endowed friends came from the most powerful magician in all of Europe...maybe even the world?

_Throughout time, the Red King's children had given rise to his bloodline, his power descending through his children and through his children's children, until it moved to present day. There used to be only a few who had obtained the Red King's power, in the late 18th and 19th century, and even fewer in the early 20th century. Yet, as scholars had proven with statistics, it had been within the last few years that the Red King's power has returned to his descendants. Now, they are given a new name: "endowed." The Red King, whose real name is_ Timoken_-_at this Charlie and Billy exclaimed breathlessly, shocked that there were already people aside from them who had discovered their ancestor's story as well-_may have risen to the lime light once again, this time, possibly with a brighter future ahead_.

Charlie couldn't help but scoff afterwards. "That's it? That's hardly worth anything to keep secret about..." he turned to Billy. "I mean, we already knew all of that, didn't we?"

Billy scrunched up his nose, his glasses slightly rising to his eyebrows. He glanced down the page and his finger landed on another marked paragraph that Charlie took notice of first. "What's that?"

_However, there has been a recently new discovery on another, more powerful King.__  
_

"Impossible," said Charlie, angrily. Who could ever surpass the power of the Red King?

_Though, it is rather incorrect to call him a King. He existed even before the great Red King, Timoken's time, and had lived through decades as an immortal before finally accepting death. He was called a legend, and only few believers still thought he had existed, while others had given up on him. But proof had been shown a number of years ago, in the late 19th century, which was the peak of the new era of magic._

_Two accidents had seemingly happened during the great World War II, to which the existence of the Knight of Light, as he was called, was finally brought forth. It was, however, confidential information on who exactly it was that had caused these incidents, and who these incidents happened to, but it was like a bomb that set off other descendants of this legendary figure and to this day, people descended from him, possess either somewhat weak, or powerful abilities._

_These, "Children of the Light" or "Controllers" are proclaimed to be the most powerful figures in the universe if they were all to come together as one._

_And no one, not even the Red King, nor any other magical user, could surpass them._

_For there can be only certain types of people to obtain almighty power, and others who try desperately to grasp it-it is not known if anyone other than the Children of the Light can have higher power than they already have..._

The paragraph ended from there. Billy was about to turn the page, when Charlie grasped his arm. "What is it, Charlie?" Billy asked, wrinkling his eyebrows. "Don't you want to see what it says next?"

"No."

Billy became startled at the firmness and anger in Charlie's tone of voice. He looked at his adopted older brother. Charlie was staring out into the darkness of the study, face blank, his hand still wrapped around Billy's wrist like a vice, while his other hand clutched at the desk in a rage-like move. The older boy's eyes were filled with so many different mixes of emotion-none of which were good-and it terrified Billy for he had never seen Charlie act that way before.

"W-Why n-not?" Billy stuttered.

Charlie's eyes were now hidden beneath some strangles of his hedge-like hair, as if he could sense that Billy had seen what he was feeling. "Because it'll only keep saying tht no matter who you are, you'll never have almight power like those supposed..._people_ have." He spat out 'people' as if they were disgusting entities that shouldn't exist. "He clutched the desk tighter, this time with both hands.

The circulation returned to Billy's wrist.

"No. One." Charlie strained. "Is. More. Powerful. Than. The. Red. King."

"Looks like there is..." Billy said cautiously, aware of Charlie's rising temper. Since when did he become like this?

Charlie glared at the book. "They're wrong." He shut it with a _thump!_ "They _must_ be. I know, because I have talked with Timoken, and he never said _anything_ about this...this...strange knight."

"Well, it did say that the knight lived even before the Red King...maybe in a different country, that's why-"

"If that's the case, then." Charlie lowered his voice with a menacing grin. "We must beat them."

"Charlie, we don't even know who these descendants are-"

"That doesn't matter."

Charlie Bone rose from his father's chair, taller than he ever was all those years ago back during the reign of the Bloors. His thin frame looked spineless against the atmosphere of the room. And against the dark light, his brown eyes turned to a dangerous black and his mouth turned into a horrible, calculating, brutal grin.

"We're going to get ultimate power."

* * *

_3 months later_

The air was heavy with fumes and smoke poured out from every angle of the road. She couldn't breath; her lungs begged for clean air, but all she got was the grey, raspy gas that infected her breathing, making her cough unbearably. She continued to cough and stumbled forward, desperately searching for a path to a safe haven-anywhere but here. Here in this land of black sky and burning fumes and grey smoke, here in this land that was filled with hatred and evil. She had only ever felt scared once: when she was younger and she had been stripped from her own free will by the forces of an evil witch-she had even turned against her own friends!

Now, here she was, getting scared and worried that she wasn't going to make it out of here. More stumbling, and tripping, and begging for breath...

And then everything changed like a background scene in a theatre being hoisted up to be exchanged with another brand-new (and better) backdrop.

She was now in front of a rather dark, grimy looking road. The smoke and fumes had vanished, together with the feeling of hatred and evilness that had surrounded her. The air was clear-no traces of any toxic waste preparing to destroy and there was only a feeling of emptiness now. In front of her, scattered along the curbside of the road, were dimly-lit lamposts, candles flickering inside their crystal cases. It was like in one of those Victorian movies her mother had starred in, only it seemed to be somewhat real.

Slowly, cautiously, she took a step forward, testing the ground for any obstacles that could trip her, and then she started walking. The only things that carried her forward were these lamposts and the endless void of darkness in front of her, beckoning for her to take a look.

With an abrupt halt, she came to be in front of a broken lampost. It's crystal lattern was broken, the shards of glass scattered on the floor and the shape of the broken pieces seemed to have been broken by someone, a person more like. She picked a piece of glass up, looked at it, then tossed it aside. It bounced off the ground and made impact with a solid wall. She glanced to where it landed. She saw the large, ,gorgeous castle standing tall and proud before her and she knew-not from personal experience, but from the stories that she and her friends have shared together-that this was not the Bone Academy, nor was it the Sparkling Castle of Mirrors either. It was something more serene and peaceful than those. She could feel the warmness and the humanity radiating off from the brick walls and took it in with reverence.

Suddenly, the dark atmosphere lit up. It was full of happiness, beauty, and light, a world that she never encountered before. She turned facing the road again, gasping at the sight before her.

There was a figure-a boy?-standing before her. A blinding light outlined his body, covering the rest in shadow. Something gleamed from around his neck that looked round and shiny. She took another step forward, and then another step, and then another step to the point where she was only a foot away from the stranger and could almost make out his face-just one more step now. With every move, she felt her heart racing like a thunderous hurricane and felt giddy and light-headed with such utter bliss it was strange. It was as if this stranger took total control of her and her heart, making her feel things that she had only dreamed about-

"GOOD MORNING SLEEPY-HEAD!"

"Mmph..."

Olivia Vertigo opened her grey-green eyes, fluttering her long eyelashes against her cheeks. Damn, it was that blasted alarm of hers again. _Why on Earth did I get_ _that? _she thought as she groggily got up from her teal, satin bedsheets, pushing aside her plush leopard-printed pillow and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

She slammed her fist on her clock, making the repetative, "GOOD MORNING SLEEPY-HEAD," die off mid-sentence, so that it only sounded like: "GOOD MORNING SLEEPY-HE-" and Olivia couldn't help but think of the word "hell" ending that sentence after the nightmare she had just woken up from.

With a disgruntled groan, she got up and opened up her faded, rainbow-colored curtains, breathing deeply when the hot, late-August sun beat down on her exposed skin. Immediately, her room brightened ten-fold, showing her emaculately clean sanctuary.

Hard to believe that almost four years ago, this bedroom was covered in glitter, fabrics, jewells, and accessories of all kinds, that those who visited her room could hardly see the floor...or her bed, or her dresser, or her closet...Olivia's godmother, Alice Angel lectured her effectively on how she needed to change this fact, so now, after four years, fifteen-and-a-half Olivia kept a neat and organized room, which still showed her most precious drama awards and props from over the years ever since she started her drama-persuing career when she was a little girl.

"Olivia," she could hear her mother's voice from downstairs. It was rather melodious, she thought with a smile. Her mother would never change. "Breakfast is ready for you! Come get it while it's still hot!"

"Yes, mum!" She called back down, already dressing down.

It would be hard for people who had known Olivia Vertigo since the time she had started her studies at Bloors Academy-now the Bone Academy-to imagine her as she is now. She was no longer the annoying little girl who dyed her hair different colors every week, or the strange little girl who wore four-inch stalleto heels no matter what the weather and terrain, or the weak little girl who was hypnotized against her will by the evil witch Tilpin, or the 'secret weapon.' No...

She became: Olivia Vertigo, the Illusionist and rising star of the Bone Academy. She had returned her hair to its natural mouse brown color, but still had outrageous dyed streaks. That was one thing she was _never_ giving up. And, realizing the amount of torture her feet had taken from wearing them, she had abandoned the heels, replacing them instead with cool, multicolored flats, pumps, sandals, and recent-height heels. She was still equipped with a sharp wit, and quick-thinking, her acting abilities still coming in handy to her whenever she needed to make a quick excuse.

This year, Olivia Vertigo would return in all her great glory to another term at the Bone Academy.

"Yes," she whispered, checking herself in the mirror. With one last quick adjustment to her white shorts and magenta top that matched with her magenta sandals, headband, and streaked hair, she made her way downstairs.

"Aren't you going to check out that new bakery that just opened up in Cathedral Close?" Mr. Vertigo asked Olivia, once she entered their kitchen. His daughter sat down with a florish-looking exactly like her mother, he thought happily-and Mrs. Vertigo served her daughter a nice hot plate of scrambled eggs and toast.

Olivia nodded her head exuberantly. "Uh-huh, me and Tancred are going to check it out together." She made a face when she said the storm-monger's name. Tancred Torsson was as stormy as ever (no pun intended), but his temper had taken a remarkable turn-around for the better, despite still getting easily angry whenever someone pushed him around. Somehow, he seemed more consciencious of other people's feelings, taking them into consideration and showing compassion (but very rarely).

She scoffed at this thought. Torsson? Compassionate? To little kids and pets, yeah, but to other people? Definitely not! The only other people he was nice to were her and Lysander, but lately, Lysander had been spending much more time with his girlfriend, Lauren than his best friend. The actress guessed that must've been the reason why Tancred hung out with her so much recently. Not that she didn't mind-she thought he was hilarious-but if it continued during the school year, people would probably get suspicious of why the storm-monger and illusionist were suddenly close all of a sudden, unless they proved they were just friends.

Olivia shuddered. Sure, Tancred was a good-looking guy, but she didn't think of him in _that _way. It'd be horredous, they both held such terrible temper-tantrums, and the thought of fighting with each other would just turn everything upside down into a frightening mess.

NO way in _hell_.

"Well, you tell me how it is, huh? I heard that Mr. and Mrs. Onimous from the Pet's Cafe are working together with th owners or something or other..." her father remarked, turning a page in the morning paper.

"Sure thing, dad," Olivia said, finishing up her eggs. She brought her plate to the sink, kissed her mum and then her dad and started heading out the door. "I might visit Alice this afternoon, so I'll be home a little later."

"Be sure to give her our love!" Mrs. Vertigo said and Olivia nodded before skipping her merry way out the door. "And be _careful_!"

Olivia laughed, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Bianca Giovanni sighed.

Another morning, another day, another customer paying...

Another shift sitting behind the counter, waiting for the next person to show up.

Her family hadn't even opened the shop until the day after they moved and there had already been a number of people who had heard about them and had told family and friends all about the bakery. Apparently, the way things were opperated here was that if a new shop opened up in the crowded Cathedral Close, majority of the population would show up and check it out.

And then, of course, there would be fewer and fewer people showing up a couple of days after the shop's grand opening.

That sucked.

She'd never admit it out loud, though. Her father and older brother already had enough on their plate while fixing up the plumbing and heating and water-system, as well as running the family business. She understood why they were so busy, it kept them from thinking about the reason _why_ they moved; she herself was making sure her thirteen-and-a-half-year-old sister was coping well after their mother's death. She felt sympathy for Veronica: moving to a different country hundreds of miles from their own, leaving behind sweet childhood memories, and faced with the dilema of going to a new school.

Fate just had to mess with them, huh?

"Bianca, are you sure you'll be fine here with Ver?" Mr. Giovanni said, entering from the back door into the shop itself. He was a tall, handsome Italian man with blonde hair and mahogany eyes and spoke perfect English. Bianca couldn't understand why he spoke English in the house, when it was just them. She figured it must be because of the need to "fit in." Because, facing it, who would ever go for Italians? Today he was dressed in dress pants and a brown t-shirt, exposing his tanned arms.

"I'm sure, dad," she said in English back to him. "You act as if I haven't been in the family business since I was born." She couldn't help but tease, it took the preasure off of him.

"That's the attitude, Bianca," her older brother, Petro, said as he too walked into the shop. He was the eldest Giovanni child and represented their father the most with the same blonde hair, the same tall stature, and the hard-working attitude. The only thing that was different about him was his eyes-he had their mother's silky grey eyes. Petro hated it, Bianca knew, he had told her many times before since their mother's death that he hated haunting his father with them. Their dad would never say anything about it, but they knew.

Bianca waved a hand at him, tugging at her brother's flannel sleeve. "Just go you beige-wearing lover!" Petro _hated_ wearing jeans or anything other than beige, dress pants.

Petro threw his head back and laughed. They could always count on Bianca for her shrewd humor. If only she actually showed it in front of other people, then maybe she'd get new friends... "I'll be sure to get you a new headband or something. I'm getting Veronica a yellow hat."

"Whatever it is, make it pink," she said as she waved her brother and father out the door. Pink was her favourite colour.

"You got it!"

And then she was alone...again.

Well, kind of.

"Veronica!" she called, smiling. If she had to work the shop, at least she could have some fun with her little sister.

The pre-teen called loudly from their kitchen in the far back hall. "WHAT!"

Bianca sighed. She had a lot to go for herself once Veronica reached her teenage years. _That's_ going to be _soo_ much fun. "What's say you help me out here? Dad and Phil left and we have the place to ourselves!" She waited for a reply from her sister, but there was nothing but silence. "Veronica?"

She stood up and moved to the entryway of their house. "Veronica? Where'd you-?"

"BOO!"

"DIO!" (God)

Veronica's laughter echoed in Bianca's ears as she stood shakily up from her position near the floor close to the counter. "That _wasn't_ funny!" she hissed through her teeth, lifting herself up and glaring at her little sister, who was clutching her stomach in laughter near the entryway.

"Haha, yes it was! Lighten up, Bia...you used to do that all the time to Petro and we'd always laugh!"

She was right. Bianca remembered all the great times she scared the living daylights out of Petro and had so much fun out of it, even though she was supposedly a 'mature' teenager. That was over now after the phone call that had changed their lives. Bianca gave Veronica a bear hug. "Whatever. You. Say!"

Veronica Giovanni was the polar opposite of Bianca. Bianca herself had dirty-blonde hair, a medium stature, and navy blue eyes that came from no where. Not to mention her shrewd sense of humor and the invigorating personality of caring more about the people she was close to (which so far was her family) than herself. Veronica, meanwhile, was extremely petite with black hair, tan skin, and mahogany eyes. Aside from her eyes, Veronica was the exact replication of their mother, even sharing her outgoing personality and charming character.

It didn't do so well for the rest of the family after Mrs. Giovanni died.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Veronica asked, spinning herself around, while Bianca tried to think of something.

"I was thinking that we could just-" But her idea got caught off from the jingle of the shop's entry bell and the loud conversation between a boy and a girl.

"You're so weird, Torsson! What kind of guy wants a monkey for a pet?" Brunette hair streaked with shockingly bright magenta stripes flashed in Bianca's vision. The girl just entering had herself turned towards her companion, so that only the back of her head and the side of her figure were facing Bianca and Veronica. She stood out immediately to the two Italian girls with her white shorts and magenta-themed decor, and they stared amusedly at the girl with the dramatic voice.

Her unseen male companion snorted. His voice resounded with a thunderous timbre, "I'll have you know, _Liv_, that my family has tried thousands of different pets and not _one_ of them can deal with me and my dad's stormy temper!"

"And that has to do with a monkey because...?"

"A monkey," he said with a know-it-all tone, "is the only animal that we _haven't_ tried. So, who knows? Maybe a monkey is the best pet for a house full of two temperamental storm-mongers."

"Ok, sure, whate-" The girl seemed to have realized that she and her friend were in the shop and turned around.

Coming face-to-face with the Giovanni sisters.

"-ver." The pretty brunette finished, blushing slightly out of embarrassment. Behind her, the tall boy stared curiously at her, wondering what in the world made his friend abruptly halt her sentence.

Veronica waved while Bianca smiled in welcome. "Hi! Welcome to Italiano's Pastry! May we help you?" Bianca rolled her eyes. She might have known it'd be Veronica to recite their recently scripted service-to-customers. Oh well, at least it kept her from stumbling over the words like a bumbling idiot.

The brunette smiled nervously, glancing between the two girls and her companion, as if he had said something he shouldn't have in front of them. This look Bianca had seen many times before and the automatic instinct of putting up a wall came into focus with her at this moment. It would only be a matter of time before her initial thought of these two strangers being fun and trustworthy with her vanished and again the dissapointment of having liars as her potential friends would welcome her.

It was the boy who spoke. "Hey! Me and my friend here," he gestured to the glowing girl. "recently found out about your shop. We wanted to check it out..." He looked all around, practically drooling over the pastries and chocolates that he saw with awe and hunger.

Bianca gave an amused smile. "Well, here you are. Feel free to browse around." She wanted to say more, but she had been isolated from people her age for so long, that she felt like if she said anything like her old self, she'd come across to them as a weirdo. Then again, she was already a weirdo what with her strange 'power.'

"Than-" The boy began, starting to walk towards an assortment of mints. But the girl smacked him across the shoulder and Bianca wondered how in the world a small girl such as her could do such damage to a big guy like him. "Ow! Liv that hurt!"

"You're being rude!" She grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and turned themselves so they were fully facing Bianca and Veronica. "My name's Olivia Vertigo. And this rude little git right here," she shook the boy and he groaned. "is Tancred Torsson."

Ok. So it didn't seem like a threat if they gave their names- "I'm Veronica Giovanni." Veronica jumped up on the counter, dangling her legs over the edge.

Bianca sighed in her head. Her little sister really needed to let her start. "And I'm her older sister, Bianca Giovanni."

She received a surprisingly bright smile from the girl, Olivia Vertigo, who nodded her head in acknowledgement. It was comforting in a way and Bianca figured she might as well say more; there was just something about Olivia that seemed to have Bianca trust her. "Our family owns this place, actually. We just moved from Italy..." She trailed off, cursing herself internally.

Damn, she gave away too much.

Olivia's eyes brightened ten-fold, however, and she exuberantly skipped forward, releasing Tancred in the process. "Italy? That's so cool! You lived there, I'm guessing?"

Tancred rubbed his head and admonished her, "Careful there, Liv. You don't want to scare them away with your blunt manuveurs."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Since when did you become my mother, Tanc?"

This actually make Bianca and Veronica giggle and Olivia joined them, ignoring Tancred's excuses ("Since-hey! Wha- I-Ugh!"). Bianca nodded her head, answering Olivia's question to her. "We lived there for most of our lives."

"Wow, I'd never have known. You two speak perfect English!" She complimented whole heartedly and Bianca swelled with pride as Veronica jumped down from the counter. Looks like they weren't lying...so far.

"Thanks!"

"So...forgive me, if I seem intrusive." Olivia glanced back at Tancred (who was scuffling towards the chocolate mints) with a raised eyebrow. "But, where are you going to school?"

Here it was: the getting-to-know-you interview that Bianca was anticipating. She was going to answer them straightforward like she always did. It was just the two teenagers before her that she had to keep an eye out for. It was either they were going to tell her the truth or they were going to lie to her for her favor. It was always the latter that she paid attention to.

Then, if they'd pass, maybe she'd have _actual_ friends for once.

Veronica glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow in question. Bianca gave her a reassuring smile. "We're going to a place called the Bone Academy."

Again that bright smile that lit up Olivia's face like a beacon. Both girls were taken aback. "That's where we go!" She exclaimed. "What departments?"

Bianca answered this time. "Well, Veronica is in art and I'm in drama."

Olivia grinned wider and leaned towards them. It was quite overwhelming for the two sisters, actually, because they had never met a girl with so much self-expression and who seemed to radiate with each smile that she gave. "That's even better! Tancred's in art and I'm in drama too!"

_Truth._ Bianca read the words in front of her that only she could see. They blinked a bright green and she sighed with relief.

Veronica grinned in return. "That's awesome! Bianca and I haven't really met anybody from that school yet, so you're the first ones!"

Tancred smirked. "Sweet."

"Veronica is in...third form, I think?" She nodded at her older sister. "And I'm in fifth form."

"Ok." Olivia tilted her head thoughtfully. "You and I will be in the same classes then." She looked at Bianca with a friendly, honest smile. "That's a relief because I don't really have any friends that I like in the drama department. All my other friends are in different ones, like that bozo over there." She inclined her head towards Tancred, who openly ignored her.

_Truth._

She then looked at Veronica with an apologetic frown. "Though, I'm sorry to say that there's nobody that we know of that's in the same form as you in the art department."

Tancred turned towards them. "Yeah, Liv and I don't really know anybody else in the Art department. Just me and my friend, Sander, but we're both in sixth form so you won't see much of us." He wanted to add_ unless_ but with the way Olivia was looking at him, he decided differently.

Veronica's smile wasn't deterred at all by this fact. "That's all right. As long as I know one familiar face then I'm all set."

Olivia sighed dramatically. "If only there were girls like you who are so brave to venture into the strange world of the Bone Academy." She figured she might as well ignore the fact that Tancred considered Lysander Sage as only his 'friend' and lighten the mood.

They all laughed.

And the words kept blinking at Bianca, who was not used to the green surrounding them: _Truth._

Tancred cleared his throat, earning the attention of the girls who turned to face him. He was peering at the Giovannis with caution, sending a slight apologetic look to both of them. Bianca stiffened and awaited for the lies that would gloat in her face. Veronica peered at her through the corner of her eyes. "Sorry if Liv and I seem a bit...odd, at asking you this, but..." the two girls leaned in forward. "Would you...that is, are you...?"

Olivia grunted. "He's asking if you two are endowed."

He slammed his palm against his forehead. "Olivia! Way to be discreet!"

"Yeah, because that's totally what _you _are, storm-boy."

Bianca narrowed her eyes as Veronica gasped in shock. "Why do you want to know?" She said it in a quiet tone, that challenged Olivia and Tancred quite a bit.

The actress and the storm-monger looked guiltily at the sisters. "Well, in the past, usually when we get new citizens, it either means something happened to make them move here or...they're endowed." Olivia said slowly in a tone that was cautious but assuring in some small way.

"And we haven't had any new people come here in a little over three years." Tancred finished explaining, lamely giving his side of the argument with a shruge. "Looks like you know what we're talking about, though."

Olivia nodded. "You can trust us."

"I know," Bianca said with certainty.

Veronica tugged on her sleeve. "Bianca, are you sure?"

Her older sister nodded with an affirming smile before turning back to the curious eyes of Olivia and Tancred.

"I know, because I'm a truth-seeker."

Well, at least it was out the window now. And thus, the start of a beautiful friendship between the trio began.

* * *

**It's not really a cliff-hanger, but oh well, I wasn't really going for that. As you can probably guess, this is sort of an alternative universe fan-fic. Be patient with me, you'll find out about the others later.**

**_Except_ the plotline is based off a story that I originally wrote about a year-and-a-half ago that I have yet to post on another site. I really wanted to write a Charlie Bone fic, though, so I thought it'd be interesting to substitute in the characters. Don't worry, my OC's are not Mary-Sues, as it'd be a disgrace to myself and the writing world.**

**Feel free to ask me in review or PM any questions you have. I'll explain them all when I post up my next chapter!**

**Ciao and please review you're great little hearts out!**


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